Circular knitting machine of the double axially opposed needle cylinder type



March 17,1942; H. H.' HOLMES CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE OF THE DOUBLE AXIALLY OPPOSED NEEDLE CYLINDER TYPE 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.2. 7

Filed Nov. 25, 194C Myentor Xttarng,

March 1942. v H. H.' HOLMES 2,276,972

. CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE OF THE DOUBLE AXIALLY OPPOSED NEEDLE CYLINDER TYPE Filed Nov. 25, 1940 2 Sheets-Sheet? Fig. 4.

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Patented Mar. 17, 1942 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE CIRCULAR KNITTING MACHINE OF THE DOUBLE AXIALLY OPPOSED NEEDLE CYL- INDER TYPE Henry Harold Holmes, Leicester, England, assignor to Wildt and Company Limited,- Leicester, England, a British company Application November 25, 1940, Serial No. 367,120- In Great Britain October 7, 1939 6 Claims.

Moreover, although it is by no means limited in this respect, the invention may with advantage be applied to machines of the type concerned furnished wth lap or wrap striping, reverse plating, loop transferring or any other instrumentalities which are operable, or have operative portions adapted for movement, between the needle cylinders in such a way as to necessitate a wider separation of, or a wider space than usual between, the opposing ends of said cylinders. The invention may, however, also be appled to machines wherein the space or gap between the cylinders is normal so as to afford further guidance or lateral support for the needles, in the said space, especially in fine gauge machines wherein the needles are slender and the distance between adjoining tricks or slots is small.

Now in machines of the type referred to the needles, when considerably advanced beyond the end of either of the needle cylinders as, for example, by means of clearing, transfer and like cams, are usually laterally unsupported for an appreciable portion of their length. consequently there is a tendency for needles so advanced to foul the end of or enter wrong needle tricks or slots in the opposing cylinder, instead of entering appropriate directly opposite vacant tricks of slots therein. For instance, in a superimposed cylinder machine adapted to produce hosiery, the short butt needles frequently enter the top cylinder during the formation of heel and toe pouches by reciprocatory knitting; accordingly if, as sometimes happens, the heads of these needles are out of correct alignment then they will foul or enter wrong tricks or slots in the top cylinder. The aforesaid tendency is enhanced in machines furnished with lap or wrap stripin instruments, wherein the needles are subjected to lateral stress and sometimes pulled sideways either by reason of the thread lapping or wrapping action or when shogging of the needies or of the lap or wrap striping instruments is effected. In any event, the tendency is an undesirable one owing to the consequent risk of damage to advanced needles or to corresponding needle operating jacks or sliders, as the case may be. Thus, for instance, needles which foul the end of or enter wrong tricks or slots in the opposing cylinder as aforesaid may become bent or broken or their butts, or the butts of corresponding needle operating jacks or sliders, may break,

thereby giving rise to the production of faulty knitted fabric.

The object of the present invention, therefore, is to provide means of a simple and eflicient character designed to counteract the aforemen-' tioned tendency.

A specific example of the invention as applied to a machine of the superimposed needle cylinder type furnished with double-ended needles and lap or wrap striping mechanism will now be described, and compared with such a machine as' heretofore constructed, with reference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawings, wherein,

Figures 1 and 2 are enlarged detail views illustrating the aforementioned tendencies of laterally unsupported needles in a machine of convent'onal construction,

Figure 3 is a somewhat similar view showing the manner in which needles are guided or supported in, accordance with the example of the invention presently to be described,

Figure 4 is a fragmentary vertical sectional view of so much of a machine of the characteristic type concerned, furnished with inside holdins-down sinkers or web holders, as is necessary clearly to illustrate the application of the invention thereto,

Figure 5 is an enlarged transverse sectional view of the sinker ring or brass of the machine,

Figure 6 is a plan view of uncut and out Fortions of the same, and

Figure 7 is a detail plan view illustrating the mannerin which the said sinker ring or brass is tricked or notched for the purpose of the present invention.

Like parts are designated by similar reference characters throughout the drawings.

In the drawings the bottom or plain cylinder of the machine is indicated at I and the axially opposed top or rib cylinder at 2. 3 represents the double-ended latch needles with which the ma-,

chine is equipped, and a typical slider for operating said needles is shown at 4 (Figure 4). The cylinder I is formed with needle tricks or slots 5 which extend longitudinally in alignment with ticular machine depicted is also furnished with lap or wrap'striping thread guides such as It having operative portions um adapted for movement between the cylinders i and 2, thereby necessitating a wider space a than usual between the opposing ends of said cylinders.

Now in Figure 1, all of the needles 3 are considerably advanced beyond the upper end of the bottom or plain cylinder i, but since the advanced, i. e. upper, portions of these needles are laterally unsupported there is a tendency for them to foul the lower end of the top or rib cylinder 2 or to enter wrong needle tricks or slots 6. To illustrate this the upper projecting portion of the needle at the right-hand side of Figure 1 is shown as having become flexed slightly sideways (as it might quite easily do, being unsupported) so that, when advanced a little farther, the hook 3a of this needle will collide with the opposing end of the cylinder 2 at the point 2a. If the lateral deflection of this needle was to an extent a little in excess of that shown, then there would be a tendency for said needle to enter the trick or slot 6' instead of the trick or slot 6".

,The needles 3 in Figure 2 are also laterally unsupported. Accordingly, assuming that the lap or wrap thread guide It is operated suchwise as to wrap an embroidery thread ll around all of the five needles shown, than the upper advanced portion of the media at the righthand side of the figure, being subjected to lateral stress, will be pulled sideways in a direction towards the guide In. Consequently the defiected needle will either foul the lower end of the cylinder 2 or enter a wrong needle trick or slot 6.

With a view to overcoming these dimculties, the expedient depicted in Figures 3 and 4 may conveniently be adopted. To this end the upper portion of the sinker ring or brass 9 at its outer face is initially formed around its periphery with a protuberant, integral bead or rib 9a (see Figure 6) which is tricked or notched at appropriate regular intervals suchwise as to provide on the ring or brass comparatively thin but nevertheless strong projecting guides or supports 12 for the needles. The grooves 8 are, of course, continued through the head or rib 9a which latter, in addition to being tricked or notched, is consequently also cut to receive the forward operative extremities of the sinkers or web holders 1. The needle-receiving tricks or notches formed as the result of tricking or notching the bead or rib as aforesaid are represented at l3, two of such tricks or notches being empty in Figure 3. As will be apparent from a consideration of the last mentioned figure, the said tricks or notches extend vertically right across and through the entire depth of the bead or rib in alignment with the corresponding needle tricks or slots and 6 in the opposed cylinders. There is a projecting integral guide or support I2 presenting a flat side or wall, at each side of each trick on notch l3. That is to say, pairs of these guides or supports alternate with the grooves 8 right around the sinker ring or brass 9. In width each such trick or notch is Just sufllcient to receive a needle 3 without lateral fore, a needle mg formed around it a protuberant play, and the back portion of said trick or notch is radiused at each side-in the manner shown more clearly in Figure 7--to afford adequate support and guidance for the needle. The upper and lower edges of the bead or rib 9a are opposlteiy chamfered or bevelled, the effect of this in the finished sinker ring or brass being shown to best advantage in Figure 3. The needle-receiving tricks or notches l3 alternate with the radial grooves 8. With this construction, there- ,3 which is advanced from the bottom cylinded I will, by reason of entry into a trick or notch l3 between two additional guides or supports I2, be laterally supported closer than heretofore to the corresponding'trick or slot 6 in the top cylinder 2. This will be appreciated by a comparison of the distances a and b in Figure 3. Accordingly, sideways fiexure of such a needle will be effectively prevented, thereby enabling it to enter the right trick or slot 6 without fouling the lower end of the top cylinder 2. The same applies to a needle passing from the top cylinder into the bottom cylinder; that is to say, the needle will be laterally supported, during its movement, appreciably closer than heretofore to the appropriate needle trick or slot 5 in the bottom cylinder.

The lap or wrap thread guides III are mounted in a longitudinally tricked cylindrical carrier l4 and may conveniently be of the form, and operable by means of the general character, described in the specification of prior United States Letters Patent No. 2,065,469 or co-pending application Serial No. 328,788, filed April 9, 1940. The reference numeral l5 indicates tubes which are provided for guiding the embroidery threads H to the guides I 0, and the customary verge in association with the top cylinder is shown at l6. In Figure 4, a. portion of the needle 3 is broken away in order to show one of the guides or supports I! more clearly.

What I claim then is:

1. In a circular knitting machine, in combination, a bottom cylinder formed with slots for reception of needles, a superimposed top cylinder which is similarly formed with needle-receiving slots and is arranged with its lower end spaced apart from the opposing end of said bottom cylinder, needles in said slots, a circular series of arcuate shaped inside holding-down sinkers, and a ring having therein at its inner face arcuate grooves for accommodation of said sinkers, the upper portion of said ring at its outer face havbead through which the aforesaid arcuate grooves are continued and which is tricked at intervals so as to form on and integrally with the sinker ring projecting needle guides between which are vertical needle-receiving tricks extending in alignment with corresponding needle slots in the superimposed cylinders, said guides being located in the space between the opposing ends of the cylinders and thereby adapted to afford lateral support for the needles when advanced beyond the end of either of said cylinders, for the purposes herein specified.

2. In a circular knitting machine, in combination, a bottom cylinder formed with slots for .reception of needles, a superimposed top cylinder which is similarly formed with needle-receiving slots and is arranged with its lower end spaced apart from the opposing end of said bottom cylinder, needles in said slots, instrumentalities other than but operable in conjunction with said needles in the production of knitted fabric, said instrumentalities having portions adapted for movement between the cylinders thereby necessitating a space of an appreciable width between the opposing ends of said cylinders, a circular series of arcuate shaped inside holding-down sinkers, and a sinker ring the inner face of which is convex and grooved to provide therein arcuate grooves for accommodation of said sinkers, the upper portion of said ring at its outer face having formed around it a protuberant bead through which the aforesaid arcuate-grooves are conin said cylinders, a circular series of arcuateshaped inside holdirig-down sinkers, and a sinker bed in the form of a ring the inner face of which is convex and grooved to provide therein arcuate grooves for accommodation of said sinkers, the

upper portion of the ring at its outer face having formed around it an integral protuberant bead which is circumferentially tricked suchwise as to form on the ring in alternation with the arcuate grooves integral guides adapted to afford lateral integral guides adapted to afford lateral support for the needles, when advanced beyond the end of either of the cylinders, in the space between the opposing ends of said cylinders, for the purposes herein specifled. 1

5. In a circular knitting machine, in combination, two axially opposed needle cylinders the opposing ends of which are spaced apart, needles in said cylinders, instrumentalities other than but operable in conjunction with said needles in the production of knitted fabric, said instrumentalities having portions adapted for movement between the cylinders thereby necessitating a space of an appreciable width between the opposing ends of saidcylinders, a circular series of arcuate shaped inside holding-down sinkers, and a sinker bed in the form of a ring the inner face of which is convex and grooved to provide therein arcuate grooves for accommodation of said sinkers, the upper portion of the ring at its outer face having formed around it an integral pro'tuberant bead which is circumferentially tricked suchwise as to form on the ring in alternation with the arcuate grooves integral guides adapted to afford lateral support for the needles, when advanced beyond'the end of either of the cylinders, in the space between the opposing ends of said cylintransferred from one cylinder to the other, a

circular series of arcuate shaped inside holdingdown sinkers, and a sinker bed in the'form of a ring the inner face of which is convex and grooved to provide therein arcuate grooves for accommodation of said sinkers, the upper portion the ring in alternation with the arcuate grooves dei's, for the purposes herein specified,

6. In a circular knitting machine, in combination, two axially opposed needle cylinders the opposing ends of which are spaced apart, needles in said cylinders, lap striping instr'uments which are operable in conjunction with said needles to wrap embroidery threads around the latter, said instruments having portions adapted for movement between the cylinders thereby necessitating a space of an appreciable ,width between the opposing ends of said cylinders, a circular series of arcuate shaped inside holding-down sinkers, and a sinker bed in the form of a ring the inner face of which is convex and grooved to provide therein arcuate grooves for accommodation of said sinkers, the upper. portion of the ring at its outer facehaving formed around it an integral protuberant bead which is circumferentially tricked suchwise as to form on the ring in alternation with the arcuate grooves integral guides adapted to afford lateral support for the needles, when advanced beyond the end of either of the cylinders, in the space between the opposing ends of said cylinders, for the purposes herein speci- 

